Illuminated globe mounting



Jan. 18 1944. R DUPLER 2,339,385

ILLUMINATED GLOBE MOUNTING Filed Feb. 26, 1942 P dR Du uler I uvmvma.

YATTO QNEY Patented Jan. 18, 1944 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE ILLUMINATED GLOBE MOUNTING Raymond B. Dupler, Toledo, Ohio Application February 26, 1942, Serial No. 432,471

4 Claims. (01. 240-128) This invention relates to the mounting of globes of transparent or translucent material particularly glass, and an object is to produce a simple and efficient mounting employing a sleeve of relatively resilient material and so constructed and arranged that it can be forced into the opening in the glass ball and satisfactorily retained in place without the use of special tools or additional fastening devices.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear and for purposes of illustration but not of limitation, an embodiment of the invention is shown on the accompanying drawing in which Figure l is a side elevation of a glass globe with the mounting sleeve installed therein;

Figure 2 is an enlarged top plan view of the sleeve mounted within the globe, only a fragment of the globe being shown; and

Figure 3 is an enlarged sectional elevation substantially on the line 3-3 of Figure l.

The illustrated embodiment of the invention comprises a sphere ID or globe preferably of glass and intended for use as a lamp. It will be understood that an incandescent lamp is inserted in the globe so that th light rays pass through the walls thereof. Oftentimes the globe is covered with a map such as a terrestrial or celestial map and such map is illuminated by the light from within the globe. As shown, the globe is formed with a round hole or opening H and fitting within the hole II is a tubular mountin sleeve l2 through which the incandescent lamp (not shown) extends to the inside of the globe, the sleeve further providing a means for mounting the globe on a pedestal or the like.

The tubular mounting sleeve I2 is of material preferably a plastic such as Lucite, Tenite or the like. Lucite i particularly satisfactory because of its transparency and the elimination thereby of dark spots or shadows which an opaque material causes. The sleeve l2 has an annular portion l3 which is of a size to pass freely through the opening ll of the globe. Formed on th exterior surface of the sleeve between the smooth annular portion l3 and an outwardly extending flange M at the outer end portion of the mounting sleeve is an annular series of closely spaced outwardly extending ribs or corrugations I5. As shown the ribs are spaced slightly from each other and each rib tapers outwardly or laterally from the smooth portion l3 so that the portion of each rib which extends the farthest from the peripheral wall of the sleeve is that portion adjacent the outwardly extending flange l4. By tapering the ribs in the manner described, it will be manifest that thesleeve can be inserted into the hole II more readily but as soon as the surface of the ribs engages the edge wall of the opening II, the respective ribs are compressed or flexed inwardly. Due to th inherent resiliency of the material, the outer surface of the ribs snugly engages the edge wall of the opening thereby to retain the sleeve in position. In the formation of the holes II in glass globes, it is difficult to control accurately the exact size and shape thereof. As a consequence, one of the ribs l5 may be compressed or flexed to a greater extent than another. In this manner, the entire edge wall surface of the opening may be frictionally engaged and thus retain the sleeve in the desired position. In the case of some plastics, the application of heat to the sleeve will assist in applying the sleeve to the opening and enhance its holding properties.

To receive the outwardly extending flange l4 of the sleeve, the outer surface of the globe in the region of the opening II is formed with a recess I6 so that the flange is somewhat countersunk. The outer surface I! of the flange I4 is tapered, at least approximately, to conform to the curvature of the globe in order to form with the globe a substantially unbroken surface. If desired, a transparent adhesive may be used for securely adhering the flange to the globe.

From the above description it will be manifest that I have provided an exceedingly simple mounting sleeve for an illuminated globe which can be applied to the globe with a minimum amount of trouble and without the use of any special tools. All that is necessary is merely to force the sleeve into the hole in the globe and the resilient ribs snugly and frictionally engage the edge wall of the hole even though the hole is somewhat out of round. Asabove mentioned, by making the sleeve I2 of transparent material such as Lucite, the sleeve will not be noticeable to the casual observer and dark spots and shadows cast by metallic or opaque sleeves are entirely eliminated.

It is to be understood that numerous changes in details of construction, arrangement and operation may be effected without departing from the spirit of the invention especially as defined in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

l. The combination of a glass globe having an opening therein, a tubular sleeve of plastic material fitting into said opening, an annular series of relatively narrow outwardly extending resilient ribs integral with said sleeve and frictionally from each other, each rib tapering outwardly from the inner end portion of the sleeve, whereby said fingers frictionally engage the edge wall of said opening thereby to retain the sleeve in place, said globe having an annular recessed portion surrounding said opening, and an annular flange extending outwardly from the outer end of said sleeve and snugly engaging in said re- 20 cessed portion.

3. A structure defined in claim 2 characterized in that the sleeve is of transparent plastic material, such as Lucite."

4. The combination of a globe having an opening therein, a tubular sleeve of plastic material fitting into said opening and having its lower end substantially conform to the curvature of the globe, means on said sleeve for holding same to said globe, said means comprising an outwardly extending annular series of closely spaced narrow resilient ribs"forming a, part of said sleeve and frictionally engaging the edge wall of said opening, said ribs normally extending outwardly beyond the circumference of said opening and being compressed during application of the sleeve to the globe, said ribs being of tapering form with the smaller portion being disposed toward and belowthe inner portion of the sleeve.

RAYMOND R. DUPLER. 

